Influenced by Metal
by Muten Azuki
Summary: Several one-shots based around the names of Metallica songs and albums. There will be drama! There will be angst! There will be horror! There will be romance! There will be crack! Are these all empty promises? Perhaps. Find the truth beyond the truth.
1. King Nothing

This was all impulsive writing. My first non-crack fic.

Dreams. The margin between fiction and reality. A boundary which, although crossed many times, is forgotten by the time morning breaks. Everyone is said to dream, but some find it as something missing in their life. Roy was one of those people. Never before had his dreams had an impact on him. Never before had he remembered one, until now.

It was strange. Everything was there. His office filled with the regular furniture. His desk, his chair, and even the coffee stain on the ground next to it. Daylight was beaming through the windows, and yet everything seemed darker than usual. Nothing could be seen beyond his door. Then the darkened halls began to resonate with the sound of footsteps. The sound began to drift farther and farther from Roy, but began to get closer at the same time. Were there two sets of feet?

It wasn't much later that the two sounds met each other. Something emitted a loud noise which screamed through the halls. A gunshot? Perhaps. The footsteps began to move again, but this time there was only one set. Roy was still in his chair waiting.

"King Bradley has been assassinated, sir." Riza said while she entered the room.

"Why?! Who told you to do that?"

"You did of course."

"Why would I say something like that?!"

"Someone will have to run the country, and I'll make sure that it'll be you. It's what you want right?"

"I never wanted to gain it this way!"

"The ruler of a country shouldn't yell too much. It's best if he's seen in an emotionally stable state."

The room sudenly changed. Roy was sitting in the Fueher's chair.

"H-how? This isn't making any sense."

"Just relax. It has to be tough for someone to become the ruler of a country during a crisis, but now you have everything. You have an entire army, status, prestige, money, power."

"I don't want this."

"Now you're the one who isn't making any sense. Before now, you had nothing. Only yourself. Do you want it that way? Do you want to be the king of nothing? I can make that happen as well." Riza said while pointing her gun at Roy.

The image then disappeared into the abyss known as the human conscience.


	2. Ride the Lighning

Night. It has been this way for the past few hours. There's very little light, and only a few sounds are ever emitted. Ed's been sleeping for a while. I wonder if he's dreaming. What's it about? The retrieval of our bodies? Winry? Mom? Maybe even a land which is said to be immersed under the sea? He's doing it again. Drooling all over his pillow. At least he looks happy.

A storm. It's just begun, and yet it has seemed as if it's been here forever. What if someone's struck? Will their screams be overshadowed by the sound of the following thunder?

They say that lightning comes from the ground and travels up towards the sky. If someone is struck would they travel towards the sky as well? Would they ride the lightning?


	3. Nothing Else Matters

To finally attain my ambition. To protect those under my jurisdiction. To push that man into submission. To remove him without the use of assassination. To me it's the only thing that matters.

I might be called insane. The secret to immortality is all that I need to gain. To protect those found within the king's domain. Nothing else matters.

To remove those with horrifying sins. To get that bitter-sweet revenge. To rid this earth of ungodly abominations. To give them their retribution. Other than that, nothing else matters.

To retrieve the things that we have lost. To ease the pain which he contains. To remove that burden no matter the cost. I'll pay any price. I'll make any sacrifice, because nothing else matters.


	4. Blackened

They have us surrounded. The ishbalans. Aiming their guns at my men. I immediately dispose of them. Their screams are drowned out by the sound of my flames, but I can still hear them. My heart aches. It seems I'll never get used to the sound. The air fills with the smell of burning flesh, and even though I should be used to it. I'm not. I walk up to them and I see their burnt bodies. A sight which I should be able to withstand, but I can't.

It's night. Everyone is calmed down. They party as if today never happened. As if they had never witnessed the death of twelve people. I can still hear their screams, I can still smell that stench, and I can still see their blackened corpses.


End file.
